Minato swept his gaze over everyone present.
He realized that whether it was the three members of the Konoha council who had always supported him along with Jiraiya, or the Ino–Shika–Cho clan, the Inuzuka, Kurama, Hyuga, or even the Uchiha who had been pushed to the fringes of power, all of them wore expressions of opposition.
"I propose that everyone go and meet Lord Garp. It's true that part of the reason is to persuade him to reconsider his decision, but that is only the most ideal outcome.
"Beyond that, I also hope to clarify from Lord Garp himself who is truly behind the scenes of the Four Kage Alliance.
"Just as Shikaku said, the Four Kage must have seen hope in defeating Lord Garp, which is why the ninja villages chose to unite.
I believe this matter is something only Lord Garp can give us an answer to.
"Setting all that aside, the Four Kage are coming specifically for Lord Garp. Whether for public duty or personal reasons, we must inform him of this.
"What do you all think?"
Minato sighed inwardly.
He knew it was impossible to have the major ninja clans and the Konoha council jointly persuade Garp to change his mind.
Fortunately, he had never placed all his hopes on that alone.
"I have no objections!"
The Konoha higher-ups, who had originally been full of resistance and opposition, no longer objected at this point.
"Since everyone generally agrees with what Minato has said, then it will be me."
"I'll go as well."
"Tsunade happens to be there too. With her and me present, we shouldn't end up angering Lord Garp."
Before Hiruzen could finish speaking, Orochimaru cut in first.
"Then I'll go too."
Jiraiya glanced at Minato, seemed to think of something, and followed up.
"Alright, then the four of us will go together. As for preparations for battle, that will be handled by Danzo, Homura, and Koharu.
Clan heads, please consolidate your lists of combat-ready ninja as soon as possible and hand them over to the three of them."
Hiruzen frowned slightly.
Deep down, he didn't really want to bring Orochimaru along, but since Orochimaru had already spoken up, it wouldn't be appropriate to reject him outright.
After all, even if he objected, could Orochimaru not go on his own?
Creating a rift with Orochimaru over such a small matter would clearly be not worth it.
As for Jiraiya, he was already on his side. Since Orochimaru was coming, one more made little difference.
With the Four Kage Alliance and the mysterious mastermind weighing heavily on his mind, Hiruzen announced the meeting adjourned after finalizing the participants.
Immediately after, he led Minato, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya at top speed toward the back mountain of Konoha.
"This… did we come at a really bad time?"
However, when the four arrived at a wooden house standing by a lake in the back mountain, their expressions became somewhat awkward.
Of course, the ones feeling awkward were Hiruzen and Orochimaru.
Jiraiya and Minato, the teacher and student, were secretly glad that they had followed along.
The reason was simple. In their line of sight, Garp had taken off the highly recognizable black suit and white shirt he wore on the battlefield.
He was now dressed in nothing but a pair of shorts and slippers, his upper body bare, revealing a physique that was solid, powerful, and brimming with dominance as he lay face-down on a beach chair, basking in the sun.
That alone wasn't the most important part.
What truly made Jiraiya's and Minato's hearts bleed was the sight of Tsunade and Kushina holding hands, their bare feet planted on Garp's back, which spread wide like bat wings, no, like two small mountains.
They lifted their feet gently and pressed down again and again, earnestly and intently giving him a back massage.
Even worse, while Tsunade and Kushina weren't completely unclothed, they were each wearing only a bikini, one white and one red.
With such an eye-blasting back-stepping service, who knew what things would turn into once it was over?
"Sensei, how about we come back a bit later?"
Orochimaru suggested.
Having witnessed Garp in the two wars in the Land of Earth and the Land of Water, he had long been fully aware of Tsunade's little thoughts. He simply hadn't said them out loud.
"Alright. We really did come at a bad time."
Hiruzen didn't particularly want to leave either, but he didn't dare look around recklessly.
Even though one was his student and the other his subordinate.
"No, you came at exactly the right time. I'll be taking a nap soon. If you have something to say, say it now.
Once I fall asleep, if anyone dares wake me up, don't blame me for pinning him to Hashirama's stone statue to keep that brat A company."
Just as Hiruzen and Orochimaru were hesitating over whether they should temporarily avoid the scene, Garp, lying on the chair and enjoying the back-stepping benefits provided by Konoha's great beauties, slightly lifted his eyelids.
After sweeping a glance over the four of them, he finally spoke.
"…"
Upon hearing this, Minato and Jiraiya both shuddered.
A nap!
That was unacceptable.
No matter what, they couldn't let this nap become reality.
They weren't worried about Garp losing control. They were worried about Tsunade and Kushina fanning the flames and playing with fire.
After all these years, they had never heard of Garp having any sort of scandalous affairs.
Yet at this moment, the looks in Tsunade's and Kushina's eyes were just short of spelling out the words "devour you," while their pretty faces all but read "jealous rivalry."
With looks like that, with expressions like those, how could a teacher and student who had secretly loved the two women for decades and over a decade respectively, yet never succeeded, never even held their hands, not feel nervous and panicked?
"Hokage-sama, since we're already here, and Lord Garp has said as much, please get straight to the point."
Minato was afraid that Hiruzen might humbly suggest coming back after the nap, so he hurriedly urged him.
"Old man, I also think it's better to speak directly. After all, we've already disturbed Lord Garp once. It wouldn't be right to disturb him a second time."
Jiraiya immediately understood and joined in the persuasion.
...
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